After tracking gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Park in southwestern Uganda, head to Lake Bunyonyi for a chance to relax in this peaceful environment and learn about the intriguing mythical truths of this lake. With legendary rolling hills that seem to go on forever and an abundance of tiny green islands, Lake Bunyonyi offers some of the most unique scenes in Africa.
The lake covers an area of 61sq/km and was created by a volcanic eruption that blocked the outlet of a river about 10,000 years ago. Lake Bunyonyi is believed to be the second deepest lake in Africa after Lake Tanganyika, with a depth of up to 900m. It lies at around 1,950m in the shadow of the Virunga Muhavura and Sabinyo volcanoes, and is slightly cooler than the rest of the country, providing a welcome refuge in Uganda, a country that never experiences winter.
The lake has 29 islands, although the most popular include: Punishment Island (Akampene), Bushara Island, Kyahugye Island, Bucuranuka (Upside Down) island and Sharp’s Island (Bwama and Njuyeera). Punishment Island is where the Bakiga used to leave unmarried pregnant girls to starve or while they swam to the mainland. This was to educate the rest, to avoid doing the same.
Bushara Island is home to an organization called the Lake Bunyonyi Development Company, which has strong links with the Church of Uganda. They use tourism to generate funds for various development projects around Bunyonyi. Kyahugye Island is 30 hectares in size and is only a 5-minute boat ride from the mainland.
Sharp Island (Bwama and Njuyeera) is where an English missionary named Dr. Leonard Sharp established a leprosy treatment center on the then uninhabited Bwama Island while he was living on Njuyeera Island. The hospital buildings are now used by a boarding high school which draws students from all over the region. There is also a primary school but no town on the island.
Bucuranuka Island (upside down) is believed to have been turned upside down after the villagers occupying it denied an elderly woman the local beer and told her to leave. She asked someone to take her to the mainland and when she reached the shore, the island turned upside down leaving everyone dead, only one chicken flew away and survived.
Lake Bunyonyi is a popular Ugandan safari destination for water sports and is known for the terraced slopes that surround it. It is popular with both foreign and domestic tourists and there is a wide variety of tourist accommodation offering various activities for your trip.
